1) Chapter 30 ends on September 5, 1829, and Chapter 31 picks up at the beginning of 1838. Why do you think Dumas has the narration jump so dramatically? Do you think he’ll have characters tell stories to fill in the gap? Does the disorientation caused by the jump in time, the introduction of new characters, and the exotic locale of Sinbad’s cave mirror Epinay’s hashish dream?

2) On approaching Monte Cristo, Epinay recognizes the religious significance of the name and compares the island to Calvary; his own name suggests “thorny.” Why the allusions to Jesus’ crucifixion?

3) Sinbad says that he rescued Ali from Tunis—but only after waiting until Ali’s tongue got cut out (because he had always wanted a mute servant). If this anecdote is true and Sinbad is Dantès in disguise, should we reconsider our sympathy for Dantès?

Final sentence of chapter:

”But the more his arms tried to ward off this unknown embrace, the more his senses fell beneath the spell of this mysterious dream, so that, after a struggle in which he would have given his soul, he abandoned himself unreservedly and eventually fell back, panting, seared with exhaustion, worn out with lust, beneath the kisses of these marble mistresses and the enchantment of this unimaginable dream.”

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